


The Wrath of a Gentle Man

by mckinlily



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Multi, friends don't let friends get kissed by boys they don't know, nino is a good friend, referenced djwifi, with incomplete information
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-05 18:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10313930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckinlily/pseuds/mckinlily
Summary: Nino catches Chat Noir kissing Marinette. It does not go well.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this post](http://lahiffed.tumblr.com/post/156107080759/post-reveal-the-kids-are-dating-and-having-a) by @lahiffed on tumblr.

In Nino’s opinion, it was a fairly normal Tuesday. The sky was overcast, the metro smelled like burnt rubber, and Alya nearly had killed herself again trying to get footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was the last one that had Nino out in this particular part of the city: he needed to ensure Alya was okay after the last akuma attack, and assuming that was true, help her convince her parents they shouldn’t ground her for eternity. Though Nino sometimes wondered if he was on the right side of that argument.

He supported Alya anyway. He figured it came with the territory of lovesick boyfriend.

He was just turning onto the street that included Marinette’s bakery when he spotted something—someone—drop from the roof into the alley not far from where Nino was standing.

_Chat Noir._

Nino felt a spike of excitement. As a citizen of Paris, Nino had come to expect Chat Noir or Ladybug sightings on a near daily basis, but despite that, he could still count on one hand the number of times he had seen one of them _in person_. And this might be the first time outside of an akuma attack.

So Nino’s eyes lingered, and what he saw was that Chat Noir wasn’t alone. He’d been carrying a girl whom he was placing on the ground…

And that girl was Marinette.

Nino blinked once, taking in how Marinette looked perfectly at home talking to a superhero, and shook his head. Chat Noir was probably dropping her off at home after the last akuma. There was something odd about Marinette who, as far as Nino can tell, was Paris’s least enthusiastic fan of the superheroes, and yet who  _also_ managed to get caught up in almost every akuma attack. Even more so than Alya. Maybe that was why she was comfortable around Chat Noir.

Whatever was is, it wasn’t Nino’s business. He’d let Alya deal with it. Or Tom and Sabine. People have a real responsibility over her. Nino was perfectly content to carry on his way and let Marinette handle herself.

Except as he drew nearer, he noticed Chat Noir was standing close to her. _Really_ close. And when he leaned even  _closer_ —

Nino didn’t think about how Chat Noir was a superhero who could lift buses. He didn’t think about how he, Nino, had never gotten in a fight in his life, didn’t even know how to throw a proper punch. All he saw was a stranger kissing one of his best friends, and he flew into attack mode.

“HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

Chat jumped away from Marinette. Nino immediately shoved himself between them, furious.

“YOU CAN’T JUST GO KISSING RANDOM GIRLS!” he shouted at the hero he used to admire. “JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE A SUPERHERO—”

Chat waved his hands frantically. “N-No. Of course not. I wouldn’t—”

“THEN WHAT’S THIS WITH MARINETTE?” bellowed Nino.

“Nino—” began Marinette.

“USING YOUR MASK TO GET WHAT YOU WANT? IS THIS WHAT YOU DO? TELL GIRLS THEY OWE YOU BECAUSE YOU SAVED THEM?”

Chat looked horrified. “I would _never_.”

“THEN YOU JUST INTIMIDATE THEM WITH YOUR SUPERSTRENGTH?”

_"Nino!_ ” said Marinette again, now grabbing Nino’s elbow.

Chat surged forward. “Listen, Ni—Good civilian,” he stuttered. “You’re absolutely right. Totally not cool. Never okay. But this isn’t what you think it is. It’s a misunderstanding—”

“ _What_ misunderstanding?” Nino snarled. “She said no and you didn’t like it?”

“ _NINO!_ ”

Nino found himself yanked back by Marinette. She was surprisingly strong. The only reason he didn’t land on his butt was the vice-like grip she had on his arm.

“Look, Nino,” said Marinette. “I really appreciate you standing up for me and everything, but it really is okay. Like Chat said, it’s a just misunderstanding.”

“He _kissed_ you,” said Nino.

“Yeah, but it’s okay,” said Marinette. “Chat’s just impulsive and doesn’t always _think things through_.” This last part was directed pointedly at the cat in question.

Chat, to his credit, looked a little sheepish.

But something wasn’t adding up for Nino. He could get Chat being an idiot. He could even, in different circumstances, easily get Marinette being attracted to Chat Noir and welcoming his advances. But there was one glaring problem.

“You have a _boyfriend_ ,” he said.

Because Marinette was dating Adrien. There was no way she was okay with someone else kissing her. _Even_ a superhero.

Chat’s ears perked up. “Boyfriend, eh?” He smirked at Marinette. “Is he hot?”

Marinette facepalmed into the hand that wasn’t still holding Nino back. “Could you just _try_ not to make this worse?”

“It’s a valid question. I want to know what my competition is.”

“ _Seriously?_ ” said Nino at the same time Marinette shouted, “CHAT!”

Chat waved his hands. “Okay. Okay. Installing my filter now. My a- _paw_ -olgoies, Princess.”

Marinette groaned. “ _This_ is why everyone thinks you’re the biggest flirt in Paris.”

“Only with you,” winked Chat.

“This guy never stops,” muttered Nino in a combination of wonder and disgust. He words weren’t needed, though, because Marinette had marched up to Chat and was now shoving him back by the chest.

“Okay. Time for the cat to go now. Think about what you’ve done, and maybe I’ll be ready to talk to you again tomorrow.”

Chat suddenly looked distressed. “Wait, does that mean Ladybug won’t be visiting me tonight?”

Marinette groaned. “ _Chat…_ ”

“It’s a serious question, Marinette! You’re not mad at me, are you? I’m really sorry—”

“No, I’m not mad at you, you dumb cat,” said Marinette. “Now _go_! Negotiate about Ladybug later.”

There was something about the fond expression that Chat sent over his shoulder before leaping off that felt distantly familiar, but before Nino could place it, Marinette sighed and turned back to him.

“I’m really sorry about that,” she said.

“Are you kidding?” said Nino. “You were the one who was in trouble.”

Marinette just sighed again with a slight smile. “No, I really wasn’t. Not that I don’t appreciate your help!” she added quickly. “But it really wasn’t what it looked like at all.”

“He did kiss you,” Nino pointed. “Look, Mari, just because he’s a hero, you don’t need to be making excuses—”

“I know that,” said Marinette. “But Chat’s a good guy. The _best_ , really. He would never _ever_ want to make me uncomfortable. He’s so…” Marinette blinked suddenly and started flapping her hands wildly. “I-I mean! It’s like I said! Yeah—Sometimes he just doesn’t think before he acts. And—uh—you saw! He didn’t know I had a boyfriend! So…yeah. Just a misunderstanding. Yep.”

“Okay,” said Nino, still not entirely convinced (Chat Noir couldn’t stop flirting with Marinette for _two seconds_ ), but if Marinette said things were fine—and she didn’t look the least bit distressed—well, he ought to do her the honor of believing her. The way she interacted with Chat was definitely friendly. Maybe it really was just a misunderstanding.

Marinette’s phone went off, and she shook her head. “Three euros says it’s Adrien,” she said, digging in her purse for her phone and grinning when she pulled it out. “And I win!”

Marinette showed Nino her phone, the screen flooded with texts from Adrien.

— _ur not mad at me, are u, mari?_

_—I’m soorrryyyy!!!! :(_

_—I didn’t mean to cause u trouble._

_—Or us?_

_—u didn’t mean it when u said u wouldn’t talk to me today, right?_

As Nino looked at the phone, another message popped up.

_—pls don’t throw me into the seine, mlady. my model face can’t handle that_

Marinette snorted. “Yeah, sounding real contrite there, kitty.”

Nino blinked. “Wait, did you just—?”

“HEY, what are you doing here anyway?” interrupted Marinette quickly. “Were you hoping for some snacks from the bakery? Papa has this new recipe…”

There was something there. Something that would make everything make sense. Nino just had make the connection—

But then Marinette was offering him fresh-baked cookies, and Alya came over, buzzing about the latest akuma, and the thought slipped from his mind.


End file.
